Team GB are off to a flying start in Olympic eventing

[Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class lead on 23.60 after dressage] © BEF / Jon Stroud Media

Laura Collett and Oliver Townend in the top five after first day of dressage

Eventing’s one of the most exciting equestrian discipline at the Olympics – there’s all sorts of fun and drama to come! Yesterday (29 July 2021) we saw some super-tense moments in the build-up to the start of Olympic eventing – with two combinations withdrawn from competition and huge changes already being made.

At the start line

Canadian rider Jessie Pheonix had to withdraw her ride, Pavarotti, before the trot-up after he was injured during his last gallop. The Olympic dream also ended early for the top Polish combo Pawel Spisak and Banderas, who wasn’t accepted in the first horse inspection. Jan Kaminski and Jard are set to step up and take their place as the first substitution of the Games, and they’ve certainly got a big task on their hands.

Following the first inspection, where all their horses were accepted, the Australian team made a huge decision to make a substitution. In the best interests of both horse and rider, Leporis and Stuart Tinney opted not to start the competition and were replaced by Kevin McNab and Don Quidam – who bring heaps of experience to the team. Another last-minute change has also been made to the Irish team, who pulled Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue out of the reserve seat and into the team, pushing Cathal Daniels and Rioghan Rua out onto the sidelines. Thankfully, the Team GB equine athletes flew through the trot-up!

Time to shine

But the drama hasn’t ended there, as the first dressage session got underway in the early hours of this morning (30 July 2021). World number one and Team GB athlete Oliver Townend with his ride Ballaghmor Class was second to go – and he didn’t disappoint! Fighting with all their might and setting the standard from the get-go, they scored of 23.60 and put Team GB in a cracking position.

Soon after, British-based Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian headed into the arena hoping to secure a medal and improve on his top 10 finish at Rio 2016. He made history in Beijing 2008, being the first ever Olympic eventer to represent China and the youngest competitor, too. Alex and his ride Don Geniro are ones to watch this year as they produced an incredible test for a score of 23.90 – just 0.3 penalties behind the leaders!

The first German rider to go was Julia Krajewski, riding Amande de b’Neville who has big shoes to fill as Julia retired her top horse earlier this year after losing an eye in an accident. But Julia kick-started Germany’s eventing campaign with a brilliant score of 25.20 to put them into third place.

The second session saw the second British combo take to the stage – Laura Collett and London 52. While battling the rain, Laura’s test started off great and went from strength to strength, producing a fantastic score of 25.80 and slotting them into fourth place – keeping the dream alive for Laura to become the first-ever female individual gold medallist in eventing.

The home nation, Japan, had a great start to their eventing competition with Kazuma Tomoto riding Vinci De La Vigne on a score of 25.90, in fifth position, and Toshiyuki Tanaka, riding Talma D’Allou, producing a respectable score of 32.70 – pushing their team up into the top three.

But as the session progressed, few combinations were able to step up to the mark, meaning Team GB riders held onto their positions. Alongside Team GB, Sweden had a very consistent start to the competition with two strong dressage scores, keeping both their riders in the top 10, too. As the session concluded Oliver Townend couldn’t be beaten and still leads the way as the third and final dressage session kicks off tonight. But reigning Olympic champion, Michael Jung, is yet to go and could change everything.

Results so far…

The top three individual combinations going into the final session…

1. Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class – 23.60
2. China’s Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro – 23.90
3. Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Amade de b’Neville – 25.20

The top three teams going into the final session…

1. Great Britain – 49.40
2. Sweden – 56.10
3. Japan – 58.60

Keep an eye on PONY news tomorrow morning for the full results of the first phase in Olympic eventing at Tokyo 2020!